Retort construction



R. B. PARKER 1,822,541

RETORT CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 14, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a a @e a wSept. 8, 1931.

Patented Sept. 8, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, l

RICHARD B. PARKER, F SANEATELES, vNEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO SAMUEL E. DABBY,TRUSTEE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RETORT CONSTRUCTION Application 1ed-Deeember 14, 1926. Serial No.154,697.

This invention relates to novel devices for the construction of retorts.Y

One of the objects of this invention is the construction of a retorthaving within the l* Walls thereof means for maintaining a highertemperature Within the retort than would be obtainable by means of thecombustion of the fuel itself Within the retort.

Another object of this invention is the pro- IQ vision of means in thewalls of a retort for maintaining a more uniform temperature as Well asmeans for` varying the temperature therein.

Another object of this invention. is the l5 provision of means at thetop of the retort for controlling the point from which the evolved gasis removed.

A further object of this invention is the provision of the controlledopenings at the 2@ top of the retort to prevent channelling Within theretort.

Another object is the provision of the controlling gate structure at thetop of the retort to provide means for varying the vertical point atwhich the evolved gas is removed, so that the effective column ofmaterial within the retort through which the gas must iiow may be variedfor the purpose of controlling the condensation of the gases Within theupper portions of the column. These and other objects are secured by theconstructions disclosed herein.

This invention resides substantially in the construction, combination,arrangement and relative location of parts as Will be clearly disclosedhereinafter.

Referring to the drawings in which the same reference numerals Will beused throughout to indicate the same or simllar parts, Figure 1represents a side elevational view, part of which is in` cross-sectionof the lower portion of a retort.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the retort taken on line 2-2 ofFigure 1.

Figure 3 is the upper portion of the retort shown in cross-sectionalview disclosing the gate construction at the top thereof.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view through the top ofthe retort showing the construction of the opening and showing themechanism for operating the j gates.

The particular construction -described herein is provided for carryingout the treatment of carbonaceous materials to remove the volatilecontents thereof, and for securing thecoke residue therefrom. A completeapparatus and process for the treatment of carbonaceous materials hasbeen fully disclosed in our copending applications, Serial Nos. 154694,154695 filed respectively Dec. 14, 1926, Dec. 14, 1926.

It has been found that in treating carbonaceous materials for thepurpose of securing the volatile Vcontents thereof that more uniformresults are secured if some means is provided for maintaining thetemperature within the retort fairly constant. I have, therefore,provided a retort construction havin passages in the walls of the retortfor eit er suppl ing a heated gas thereto or a heated liqul is alsopossible by means of my construction, if desired, to burn an inflammablegasv or liquid within the passages to secure the desired heatingeffects.

I have also provided at the top of the retort a series of verticallydisposed o enings and controlling gates therefor, so t at the evolvedgases may be removed at any side of the retort and at suitable verticalpoints.

Several valuable results are secured by this construction, such asreducing or preventing what is known in the art as channelling. Thus, ifthe gas has a tendency to travel u wardly through the column of materialin t e retort to one side thereof, I may minimize this action by openingthe gates at the other side, so as to Withdraw the gas at thatparticular side. I also secure by means of this construction the resultof varying the length of the column through which the gases must travel.It is, of course, apparent that the upper portions of the column will becooled, so that as the heated gases travel therethrough, those of ahigher volatilizing nature condense within the column.

This is desirable tn a certain extentV and ioo . nected to chamber l0 bythe passages 13 and to chamber 7, by the passages 8. Verticallyextending passages or chambers 11 are in communication with chamber 9,and are joined at the top of chambers 12.

The heated gas or liquid may be supplied to the chambers 7 and 10 andremoved from the chambers 12 providing a continuous circuit, therefor.When desired an infiammable gas may be supplied to either chamber 7 orchamber 10 and air may be supplied to the other chamber and the gasburned within chamber 9. The heated products of combustion may thentravel upwardly through the passages 11 and removed at the top from thepassages l2.

It will be apparent without further description that a control of thetemperatures within the retort may be readily secured by thisconstruction.

At the to of the retort a Casin 14 is pro` vided, Whic is closed at thetop y the Wall 15. A gate or other suitable arrangement 16 is rovided inthe walls through which materlals may be fed to the hopper 18 and thencelinto the retort. Gas connections 17 are provided at suitable points incasin 14 for the removal of evolved gases. The` opper 18 is supported bythe casing 17 within t e retort. A metallic concave annular ring extendsaround the casing 17 to close oif the space between the casings 17 and14: from the retort chambers. A series of vertically disposed openings19 is provided on each side of the casing 17 over the surface of whichmoves the sliding gate 20. One ate is provided for each set of openings.n the gate is secured toothed rack 21, which meshes with the gear 22.The gear is mounted on the same shaft as a hand wheel 23, which whenrotated will cause the gate to move over the casing 17. The openings inthe casing 17 and the gates are so arranged that the openings will beuncovered in sequence.

Figs. 4 and 5 showr in greater detail the construction of the gates. Thecasing 17 which extends from the top of the retort or may be anextension thereof is provided with a plurality of openings 27 arrangedin sets on each side of the retort in vertical align. ment. This part ofthe casing or retort is enclosed by means of the outer casing 14 whichis closed at the top by means of the wall 15. Surrounding the casing 17is another casing 27 which forms with the wall 17 a closed space. The.casing 27 is provided with a plurality of spaced openings 27. Walls 28extend from the two upper openings 27 on each face of the casing 17 intoengagement with the enclosing casing 27, as is clear in Fig. 4. Thesewalls 28 cooperating with the outer casing'27 provide a series ofsupporting chambers, as indicated at 30, 31, 32. Arranged to slidevertically against each outer face of the casing 27 are the plates 2Ohaving a series of spaced openings 20. These plates provide what may betermed gates. Secured to each plate 20 is a rack 21 which mesheswitli'the small gear 22 secured to the shaft 26. The shaft 26 isjournalled in the casing 14 and is arranged to be rotated by means ofthe hand wheel 23. For emphasis it may be pointed out here that thestructure shown at the right and left hand sides of the Qretort is, ofcourse, duplicated on the front and back but has been left olf thedrawings :for sake of clarity. ln other words, each side of the casing17 is provided with a series of openings 27 and controlled by gates. Bymeans of this structure the evolved gases can be withdrawn at a numberof desiredpoints through the gas take oli:1 connections 17 andfurthermore, by opening the gates on any particular side the gases maybe removed from that side and not from any of the others. It is alsoapparent that the gases can be taken oli' on one side at one opening andon another side from another opening either above or below the firstopening. Thus by means of such a structure it is possible to preventchanneling which is a well known difficulty in this art. Channeling isthe term for the phenomenon of a gas taking the path of least resistanceas it lows upwardly through a fuel bed of considerable depth. All thegas tends to go up this path of least resistance which path is usuallyof limited cross-sectional area. To get the best results with thisdevice for use in accordance with the process ,to be used with it it isdesirable to have the gases flow up through the bed in a substantiallyuniform iow overthe entire cross-sectional area of the bed as ispossible. As is apparent from the drawings, the relative size andspacing of the openings 20 on the plate 20 are such that each opening 27may be uncovered separately or they may all be uncovered at the sametime if this is desirable.

It is at once evident from the description ot this arrangement that thepoint at which the evolved gases are removed from the retort is undermanual control.- y

' I have disclosed the principles of my invention in one form of thestructure merely for the purpose of illustration, and I do not desire tobelimited to this particular arrangement, as I am well aware that manychanges in the details of construction and arrangement of parts willreadily occur to those llO skilled in the art. I, therefore, desire tobe limited only to the extent required by the following claims.

What I seek to secure by United States Letter Patents is :-v

1. In a retort construction, the combination of a retort having openingsin the walls thereof near the top and a chamber surrounding the top ofthe retort, with a plurality of slidable gates in said chamber, a rackon said gates, a gear for engagement with the rack and means forrotating said gear, said gate controlling said openings.

Q. In a retort construction, the combination with a retort having aplurality of sides and having a plurality of openings placed vin avertical line on each side thereof, and a casing enclosing said retortat the openings thereof and spaced therefrom, and means for removing thegases from said casing, of independent means for controlling the areasof the openings on each'side of the retort.

3. In a retort construction the combination with a multi-sided retorthaving a plurality of openings disposed in alignment on each sidethereof and a casing enclosing said retort at the openings thereof andspaced therefrom and having means for removing the gases from saidcasing of a plurality of independent gates one for the openings on eachside of the retort and means for adjusting the gates with respect to theopenings to vary the area thereof and to control the point at which thegases are removed from the retort.

4. In a retort construction the combination with a multi-sided retorthaving a plurality. of openings in the retort wall on each side thereof,and a casing enclosing said retort at the openings thereof and spacedtherefrom and having means for removing the gases from said casing of aplurality of shutters one for each side of the retort and independentmanual means for moving the shutters.

5. In a retort construction the combination with a multi-sided retorthaving a plurality of openings in the retort walls on each side thereof,and a casing enclosing said retort at the openings thereof and spacedtherefrom and having means for removing the gases from said casing andmeans for admitting fuel to said retort through said casing of means forcontrolling the areas of the openings.

6. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination with amulti-sided retort having a plurality of vertically aligned openings inthe walls thereof near the top and on each side, of movable gates forsaid openings, and a rack and gear to move the gates with respect to theopenings whereby the point at which the gases are removed may be variedas well as their rate of removal.

7. In a retort construction, the combination of a retort having openingsin the walls thereof near the top through which the retort gases may bewithdrawn, and a chamber surrounding the to of the retort and enclosingsaid openings wlth a plurality of gates in said chamber and means formoving the gates with respecttc the openings to vary their areas RICHARDB. PARKER.

